Bear Sterns, CNet, Liz Claiborne, Yahoo, more

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Shares of the following companies were among those making notable moves in the U.S. stock market Friday.

Advancers

Biotech company Exelixis Inc.
EXEL, -3.37%
shares jumped 9.3%. It said Genentech Inc.
DNA, +1.94%
has exercised its option to further develop and commercialize Exelixis' compound XL518 an inhibitor of MEK currently in phase I clinical trial.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.
PSUN
shares gained. It said its fourth-quarter profit fell to $5.5 million, or 7 cents a share. Excluding discontinued operations and one-time charges, the company said it would have posted a profit of 31 cents a share for the latest quarter. Revenue fell to $420.1 million from $455.8 million in the year-ago period. Analysts estimated a profit of 28 cents a share on revenue of $397 million.

Security Capital Assurance
SCA, -0.10%
shares rocketed up 64%. It said it will stop writing new business for a period of time after the bond insurer reported a $1.2 billion fourth-quarter net loss. The company said it won't pay a quarterly dividend on its common stock or a semi-annual dividend on its series A preference shares.

Steris Corp.
STE, -0.61%
shares moved up. It said Michael Tokich has been promoted to chief financial officer. The company also announced a buyback of up to $300 million shares of common stock which represent about 20% of its shares.

Decliners

Aeropostale Inc.
ARO, +11.11%
shares fell 4.3%. It said its fourth-quarter profit rose to $64.7 million, or 95 cents a share. Excluding special items, the company said it would have reported a profit of 93 cents a share for the latest quarter. Revenue rose to $591.3 million from $506.8 million in the year-ago period. Analysts estimated a profit of 88 cents a share on revenue of $583.1 million. The company sees a first-quarter profit of 20 cents to 22 cents a share.

AnnTaylor
ANN, -1.08%
shares lost 6.7%. It reported a fourth-quarter loss of $6.67 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $21.5 million, or 31 cents a share. Excluding a restructuring charge, it would have earned $11.5 million, or 19 cents a share. Sales slipped to $601 million from $610 million. The retailer added that it expects the first quarter to be "the most challenging of the year."

Bear Stearns Cos.
BSC, +1.30%
shares plunged 40%. It said Friday that it got short-term financing from the Federal Reserve and J.P. Morgan Chase after the brokerage firm's liquidity "deteriorated significantly" during the past 24 hours. See full story.

Churchill Downs Inc.
CHDN, -1.12%
shares tumbled 8.4%. It reported its fourth-quarter net loss widened to $6.2 million, or 46 cents a share, with a net loss from continuing operations of $5.1 million, or 38 cents a share. Revenue grew to $89.1 million from $80.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

CNet Networks Inc.
CNET, -1.24%
shares fell 5.8%. It said it's considering an appeal of a court decision that permits a group of activist investors to nominate new board members for the company. The investors include Jana Partners LLC and Spark Capital. Read the full story.

Shares of troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp.
CFC, +1.52%
fell 5.7%. It is attempting to block a federal inquiry into the way it treated bankrupt borrowers in 300 cases in Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania, according to a published report Friday. See full story.

DuPont Co.
DD, -2.02%
shares fell. It on Friday raised its first-quarter earnings guidance to reflect increased global demand for its agricultural products as well as gains in emerging markets and productivity. See full story.

Hillenbrand Industries Inc.
HB
shares were lower. It said it expects Hill-Rom Holdings to post earnings of $1.11 to $1.30 a share on revenue of $1.43 billion to $1.48 billion in fiscal 2008, and Batesville Holdings to report earnings of $1.27 to $1.47 a share on revenue of $668 million to $686 million. Hill-Rom is the new name of Hillenbrand Industries following the pending separation of the company into two entities. Batesville Holdings will be renamed Hillenbrand Inc.

Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc.
IMH, -1.64%
shares tumbled 9.1%. It said two of its senior executives have resigned, even as the company is in final renegotiations to settle a significant portion of its repurchase liabilities and refinance its remaining warehouse borrowings. The company said it won't able to file its Form 10-K for 2007 by its due date of Monday because it expects the outcome of these negotiations will result in additional disclosures in the 2007 financial statements.

Liz Claiborne Inc.
LIZ
shares were lower. It swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $435.7 million, or $4.55 a share, from $73.2 million, or 71 cents a share, a year ago, because of a large Partnered Brands impairment charge. Without the $451 million charge, the company would have posted a profit of 20 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue fell slightly to $1.21 billion from $1.25 billion a year ago.

Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd.
MRH
shares were lower. It named Christopher Harris chief executive officer, effective July 1. Harris succeeds Anthony Taylor, who will assume the role of executive chairman until December 2009.

Western Refining Inc.
WNR, -6.58%
shares fell 5.3%. It had its ratings put on review for a possible downgrade by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services because of concerns over the rapid deterioration in refining margins, and a prolonged period of weak markets. S&P has a BB- corporate credit rating on Western Refining.

Yahoo Inc.
YHOO
shares lost. The company and Microsoft Corp.
MSFT, -1.81%
executives met to talk about a potential deal for the first time since Microsoft's unsolicited takeover bid on Jan. 31, according to a report Friday in The Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter. Yahoo is also planning to move its European headquarters from London to Geneva, Switzerland, the Financial Times newspaper reported Friday, citing a person close to the move. See full story.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.